Tuesday, May 18, 2010

The last day …

Christchurch in the rain: willows that weep in more ways than one, splashes from the tram tracks and people shivering because its 10C. Given that I have been travelling in the southern hemispheres autumn/winter months most times the weather has been very kind. My waterproofs and umbrella made it out of the suitcase today and I soon acclimatised.

With my first task of rebooking my flight from Bangkok to London completed I walked into the city to visit the museum and other galleries. The Botanic Gardens were unappealing …

I also found the Medical School bookshop in Christchurch Hospital and bought a book of poetry called Playing God. Dale had let me see her copy last night and it is a book worth paying the high cost of books in NZ. I think books here, and in Australia, are at least 1.5x UK prices whether they are imported or not.  The bookshop was an ideal place to add to my list of future must reads and to note down more titles to suggest to my book group. I hope some in the long list I’ve been collecting over the last 8 weeks will appeal to them for future meetings –certainly many of the authors are new to me and I doubt we would have come across them in the UK.

Lunch was a very good fish chowder in Dux de Lux –with some good music and a chance to write thank you notes to Dale and Marianne for their hospitality this weekend.  I’ve had lots of very good company in the last 8 weeks, some planned and some unplanned. There’s a welcome in England and France for all of you at any time.

I’ve just made sure my ITouch and e-reader are fully charged for the long journey ahead. Three flights, very reasonable transit times between then in Sydney and Bangkok and I arrive home 7 am Weds. Fortunately I am travelling with Qantas so, once again, I will avoid the BA strike. Fancy me thinking in March that the dispute would all be settled by the time I returned in May! Now there’s only that volcano to possibly delay me …

No comments:

Post a Comment